A Timeline of the Voyage:
July-November 1620
Gilbert Margeson's The Mayflower at Sea
July
The Pilgrims leave Leyden, their home for twelve years in the
Netherlands. [Text]
22: The Speedwell departs the Netherlands from
Delftshaven, a Dutch port city 24 miles south of Leyden, to meet
the Mayflower in Southampton, England. [Text]
25: The Speedwell arrives in Southampton. [Text]
August
5: The Mayflower and the Speedwell leave England
from Southampton, sailing west for the Atlantic Ocean. [Text]
8: The Speedwell is leaking: water is seen trickling
through the timbers of her hull.
12: Both ships drop anchor in Dartmouth harbor for
repairs.
23: After repairs,
the Speedwell and the Mayflower
leave Dartmouth.
26: The Speedwell is leaking dangerously; both
ships turn back yet again.
28: Both ships drop anchor in Plymouth Harbor.
29: Pilgrim leaders and ship crews decide to leave the
Speedwell behind and start selecting those who will travel on
the Mayflower.
September
6: Hoping that the third time's the charm, the Mayflower
leaves port with 102
Pilgrim passengers and approximately 50 crew, hoping to reach
America in eight weeks.
11: The Mayflower sails south of the Scilly Isles,
England's last piece of land mass.
12: 1 week at sea; approaching Longitude 10
degrees west.
14: Many of the Pilgrims had finally found their sea legs and
are moving more freely around the Mayflower's decks.
16: The crew of the Mayflower is rapidly becoming
irritated by the
Pilgrims who are now spending more and more time moving
about the ship. Quarreling begins to occur.
19: 2 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 15
degrees west.
22: Captain Jones asks the Pilgrims to stay below decks in order to
quell
the sailors' annoyance. The sailors continue to tease and taunt the
Pilgrims.
23: A "spetiall worke of Gods providence" occurs, as one of the
more
errant sailors dies--the ship's first casualty.
26: 3 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 20 degrees
west.
27: The main beam of the Mayflower begins to split open.
29: The ship's damage is repaired, as one of the Pilgrims just
happened
to
have the crucial screw among his belongings.
October
1: John Howland is thrown overboard; by catching on to one of the
top
sail's halliards while underwater, he is spared from drowning.
4: 4 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 25 degrees
west.
7: Elizabeth Hopkins bears a son. He is named "Oceanus."
11: 5 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 40 degrees
west.
18: 6 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 47 degrees
west.
20: Captain Jones's attempts to set course for north of Virginia
are
continually frustrated as winds blow the ship on a more northerly
course.
25: 7 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 54 degrees
west.
27: Captain Jones begins to worry that the Mayflower's
position
is
farther north than it should be by this point in the journey.
29: The Mayflower enters an area of ocean where ocean
patterns
and
waves indicate she is nearing the western Atlantic.
November
1: 8 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 63 degrees
west.
6: William Button, the young servant to Doctor Samuel Fuller, is
the
first Pilgrim to die during the journey.
8: 9 weeks at sea; approaching Longitude 70 degrees
west.
Definite signs of land are spotted: twigs, land birds, and
coastal seaweed.
9: The Pilgrims see land, which they deem to be Cape Cod.
November 11, 1620: The Mayflower arrives in Cape Cod
Harbor.
While moored at the tip of Cape Cod, the Mayflower
Compact is drawn up and signed by 41 of the 65 adult male passengers.
Discussions and prayer sessions take place aboard the Mayflower
which eventually give the Pilgrims the courage to go ashore. Because
the bay at Cape Cod is so shallow, the Mayflower is moored far
from shore and the Pilgrims must resort to wading ashore
through the cold waters to reach land at Provincetown.